1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Zoot Suit. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Zoot Suit follows the life of Henry Reyna and his friends, all Mexican-Americans. Henry gets arrested at the Sleepy Lagoon in 1942 for murder, and the play covers the next three years as his gang faces the American Justice system and institutionalized discrimination during WWII. The play deals with his false imprisonment as well as his struggle with his identity.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion comes when Henry is given his guilty conviction. This occurs at the end of act one and is what raises the stakes for the rest of the play. It gives consequences to Henry’s actions, and forces him to battle himself over who he wants to be.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the day that Henry Reynas is wrongly convicted of murder at Sleepy Lagoon.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrustion.)
-What person will Henry choose to be? -Can Della and Henry overcome the events? -Is The Pachuco real?
5. Use Henry to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Me Vs. Society
This play is almost completely Me vs. Society. You could argue other types here, but it almost all stems from the larger system of discrimination that existed in the period. When he first wants to go into the Navy a be in a successful relationship, he is wrongly convicted of murder, and this is where the whole play turns into a larger societal struggle. There is a Me vs. Fate here as he feels like he cannot escape the stereotypes put upon him while he is in jail, but this again plays into the larger role of Me vs. Society. His fate where he falls into a cycle of crime is Me vs. Society.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Zoot Suit. There are more than one.
The first, or one, is when Pachuco is beaten during the actual Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. He is chasen down, brutally beaten, and forcibly stripped. After this, he rises and disappears into the background while dressed in Aztec garb. The scene is very real in showing what actually happened to people during the riots.The transformation is powerful as a claim to culture, but the Aztec god image also represents what Henry wants to be.
Another theatrical moment is when we hear Henry’s fate in the final seen. Pachuco reveals that he returned to jail several times, suffered from drug abuse, and died in a bar within thirty years. Several other characters come in with the other ways to interpret Henry’s fate with other situation. They give many situations, including a regular life, and this seems to represent all Mexican-Americans. It is a statement of pervasive racism as Henry ‘still lives on’. The injustice still lives, but the community continues to build.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Zoot Suit. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Zoot Suit The Zoot Suit is a representation of culture and the Hispanic people, but it is also a symbol of their oppression. Yes, this is what they wear to express themselves and their culture, but it also become a major thing that ends up singling them out for their oppression.
The Pachuco This is a visual representation of the more radicalized side of Henry, but it goes deeper than that. This is his conflicting identity, but it can also serve as an exaggerated stereotype of what the mass media is portraying them as.
Mixing of Language Especially coming from when The Pachuco, the blend of language (Spanish and English) represents blending of cultures and cultural identity.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Zoot Suit.
-Systematic Oppression -Shortcomings of the Justice System -Identity Crisis -Stereotyping -Race
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Zoot Suit?
Zoot Suit establishes unconventional self-made families from the barrios of LA in the 1940’s, those who inhabit them, and the street gangs that are formed, especially with the younger generation. These are real ‘family groups’ that help aid the young Mexican-Americans struggling with their identities. These faily groups though are not perfect though and encourage the members to sometimes act in a stereotyped behavior that gets them into trouble, and this is what sparks the dramatic action in the play.
Zoot Suit follows the life of Henry Reyna and his friends, all Mexican-Americans. Henry gets arrested at the Sleepy Lagoon in 1942 for murder, and the play covers the next three years as his gang faces the American Justice system and institutionalized discrimination during WWII. The play deals with his false imprisonment as well as his struggle with his identity.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion comes when Henry is given his guilty conviction. This occurs at the end of act one and is what raises the stakes for the rest of the play. It gives consequences to Henry’s actions, and forces him to battle himself over who he wants to be.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the day that Henry Reynas is wrongly convicted of murder at Sleepy Lagoon.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrustion.)
-What person will Henry choose to be?
-Can Della and Henry overcome the events?
-Is The Pachuco real?
5. Use Henry to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Me Vs. Society
This play is almost completely Me vs. Society. You could argue other types here, but it almost all stems from the larger system of discrimination that existed in the period. When he first wants to go into the Navy a be in a successful relationship, he is wrongly convicted of murder, and this is where the whole play turns into a larger societal struggle. There is a Me vs. Fate here as he feels like he cannot escape the stereotypes put upon him while he is in jail, but this again plays into the larger role of Me vs. Society. His fate where he falls into a cycle of crime is Me vs. Society.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Zoot Suit. There are more than one.
The first, or one, is when Pachuco is beaten during the actual Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. He is chasen down, brutally beaten, and forcibly stripped. After this, he rises and disappears into the background while dressed in Aztec garb. The scene is very real in showing what actually happened to people during the riots.The transformation is powerful as a claim to culture, but the Aztec god image also represents what Henry wants to be.
Another theatrical moment is when we hear Henry’s fate in the final seen. Pachuco reveals that he returned to jail several times, suffered from drug abuse, and died in a bar within thirty years. Several other characters come in with the other ways to interpret Henry’s fate with other situation. They give many situations, including a regular life, and this seems to represent all Mexican-Americans. It is a statement of pervasive racism as Henry ‘still lives on’. The injustice still lives, but the community continues to build.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Zoot Suit. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Zoot Suit
The Zoot Suit is a representation of culture and the Hispanic people, but it is also a symbol of their oppression. Yes, this is what they wear to express themselves and their culture, but it also become a major thing that ends up singling them out for their oppression.
The Pachuco
This is a visual representation of the more radicalized side of Henry, but it goes deeper than that. This is his conflicting identity, but it can also serve as an exaggerated stereotype of what the mass media is portraying them as.
Mixing of Language
Especially coming from when The Pachuco, the blend of language (Spanish and English) represents blending of cultures and cultural identity.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Zoot Suit.
-Systematic Oppression
-Shortcomings of the Justice System
-Identity Crisis
-Stereotyping
-Race
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Zoot Suit?
Zoot Suit establishes unconventional self-made families from the barrios of LA in the 1940’s, those who inhabit them, and the street gangs that are formed, especially with the younger generation. These are real ‘family groups’ that help aid the young Mexican-Americans struggling with their identities. These faily groups though are not perfect though and encourage the members to sometimes act in a stereotyped behavior that gets them into trouble, and this is what sparks the dramatic action in the play.